Thieves clean out North Side cell phone store

Over $10,000 worth of cell phones were stolen from the Virgin Mobile store in the 2500 block of North Clark Street in Chicago overnight.

Over $10,000 worth of cell phones were stolen from the Virgin Mobile store in the 2500 block of North Clark Street in Chicago overnight. (Alex Garcia, Chicago Tribune)

Staff report

Thieves pried open a door of a cell phone store in the Lincoln Park area and made off with a cash drawer and the store's entire inventory, worth at least $10,000, authorities said.

Police were called to the Virgin Mobile store in the 2500 block of North Clark Street just after 3 a.m. today and found the back door open, according to Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

The store's entire inventory was stolen and a full cash register drawer was missing from a secure area, police said.

Between $10,000 and $30,000 worth of cell phones were taken, officials said.

An employee of the company that owns the store, DCI Bmers, Ltd., which manages several stores including the Lincoln Park location, said he was not authorized to comment on the break-in. Virgin Mobile stores are independently owned by local companies.

No one was in custody as Area North detectives investigated, Mirabelli said.